by Nora Phoenix
“Will that settle our score? … Your word is good enough for me. You know I’m a man of my word. All right, then.”
He hung up.
“Put something nice on, baby, we’re going out,” Duncan yelled at him from the living room.
Fuck. Stephan had come to hate the parties Duncan took him to. Duncan treating him like his bitch was something he had learned to live with, especially since the guy had been territorial and hadn’t even allowed his friends or associates to look at him. In a way, Stephan had been grateful because it had kept him from being passed around, like some of the other girls and boys. Duncan hadn’t allowed anyone else to fuck him in the four years he’d had Stephan—another tiny little thing to be grateful for.
But lately, that had changed. Duncan had made some crude remarks about Stephan earning his money, had joked with his friends about how good he was at sucking cock and how tight his ass still was, even after all these years. He’d bragged about Stephan in a way that had made his skin tingle, and not in a good way. Fuck, two weeks ago at a party he’d joked with his lieutenants about how much they’d pay for the experience of having Stephan suck them off, or to fuck him. Ever since, Stephan had been on edge, suspicious.
Maybe it was time to make a run for it, find his freedom. He had almost $50,000 hidden, enough to last him for a bit. He’d hoped for more, but wasn’t sure how much more time he had before things went south. Not much, that was becoming clear.
He picked dark dungies, a tight light-blue shirt. Duncan liked him to look even younger than he was, and he didn’t want to piss him off in any way. That was a bad idea in general, but especially when he was high.
Duncan walked in as Stephan was putting gel in his blond spikes.
“Put on your tight dungies,” he ordered. “They make your ass pop. And wear that red string. I want you to look hot and sexy.”
Stephan’s stomach sunk. Fuck, where was Duncan taking him? Red string? Nobody would see that, unless…Oh, this was not good. His insides churned as he got changed, going over every possible scenario. None of them were positive, but he knew better than to ask Duncan. He’d have to be careful, on his guard.
A limo brought them to an expensive hotel near Prudential they’d been to before, close to the city center.
“Where are we going?” he asked in the elevator.
“It’s a surprise,” Duncan said, winking at him. Stephan swallowed, turned his gaze away. Duncan pretended to be relaxed, but he was on edge. Stephan recognized the signs, the shifty eyes, biting his fingernails, not being able to stand still. Some of it was the coke, no doubt, but there was more. Something was going on. Fuck, Stephan hated surprises, since they were rarely good.
“I can’t wait, honey,” he purred. He had to keep up the front, stay alert on the inside.
Duncan put his hand on Stephan’s ass as they walked through the hallway to a suite, at least that’s what it said on the little plaque next to the door. Duncan knocked and the door was opened almost immediately. The guy who opened the door was handsome, dressed in expensive clothes, judging by the name brands.
“Stephan,” he said, reaching for his hand and pulling him inside. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you after hearing so much about you from Duncan. Come in.”
Stephan wanted to say likewise, but had no earthly idea who the guy was. “Thank you,” he merely said, stepping into the room. He had expected a party, or at least a small gathering, but there was no one else there.
“Steph, wait here for us, alright? We’ll be right back.”
Stephan nodded, couldn’t do much else, as Duncan and the well-dressed guy left the suite. Damn, he’d never given Stephan his name. Everything about this felt bad, but what could he do?
He walked around the gigantic suite a bit, checking out the shower with the double showerheads and the bathtub with jetstreams. It didn’t mean shit to him, all that expensive stuff. All the riches in the world meant crap without your freedom—a lesson he had learned the hard way the last four years.
He checked the slim golden watch he was wearing—a rare, expensive present from Duncan. It would fetch at least a grand in a pawn shop, which was the only reason Stephan liked it. It had been five minutes since the guys left. What the fuck was going on?
The door lock released and it opened. Stephan retreated back into the suite, his whole body tight with tension.
“Hello, Stephan.”
He recognized the man’s voice immediately, even before he walked into Indy’s line of sight, and his body froze. Eric Fitzpatrick, Duncan’s cousin. Equally handsome, but an unimaginably sick fuck. He was way, way worse than Duncan. Got off on rape. Stephan had seen him brutally violate a guy who had stolen from him, right in front of everyone. Fuck, what the hell was happening?
Eric was dressed in an expensive suit, as always. Out of habit, Stephan checked the guy’s pupils. Would he be fucked up on something as well? Didn’t look like it.
“Duncan didn’t tell you, did he?”
Eric made a tut-tut-tut sound, while taking his jacket off, carefully hanging it on a chair.
“Tell me what?”
“He gave you to me. Well, for tonight at least. He owes me, you see, and this is his way of paying off that debt.”
Stephan froze. Duncan had handed him over to Eric? Holy motherfucking hell, he was in so much more shit than he’d ever imagined.
“No response?”
Stephan shrugged with feigned indifference. “Does it matter what I say?”
Eric’s laugh was chilling. “No, but I do hope you’ll resist, at least a little. Struggling turns me on, as you know… You remember Tony, do you?”
Images flooded Stephan’s mind. The guy who had stolen from Eric. Oh, he had struggled, alright. Eric could have had him hogtied and gagged, but he didn’t. Even then, Stephan had realized the sick fuck had wanted to hear the guy scream, had gotten off on it. And damn, he had screamed. The rape had been ruthless, ferocious. Eric had fucked his straight, virgin hole until Tony had passed out from the pain, his ass a bloody mess. Stephan had literally had nightmares about it.
“I do,” Stephan said, keeping his voice level. What were his options? Playing it cool and cooperating? Hope that Eric would get bored? Somehow, he doubted the bastard would allow that to happen. He’d make it interesting, somehow.
“Then you know what happens when you struggle.” Eric unbuttoned his shirt sleeves, rolled them up meticulously.
“But if I don’t struggle, how will you get off?” The words flew out of his mouth and he wanted to take them back immediately. Duncan would have backhanded him, but Eric laughed.
“You’re a feisty one! Duncan hasn’t fucked that out of you, huh? No wonder, with a dick that size.” Eric slowly pulled a knife out of his pocket, whipped it open with a lazy gesture. “We’re going to have a wonderful time together, you and me.”
Indy didn’t look at Noah. He’d never be able to finish if he did. “He raped me,” he said, fighting to keep his voice level. “I couldn’t do a damn thing until he had to let go of the knife to tie the condom he’d used. I don’t think he even expected me to fight back at that point. Nobody ever won against the Fitzpatricks, you know. I grabbed the knife, jammed it straight into his thigh. I stood in that hotel suite, Noah, and I watched him bleed out. Waited till I knew for sure he was dead until I called the cops.”
“My God, Indy…”
Indy knew Noah wanted to comfort him, hold him, but he needed to finish the story before he lost the courage.
“I didn’t wanna get charged with murder, so I needed the cops to collect evidence, to prove that he’d raped me and wanted to do it again. Otherwise they’d have never believed me had they ever arrested me. They would’ve thought I was loyal to the Fitzpatricks, had done it to help Duncan. Even then, they weren’t fully convinced. But because I had solid inside intel about the Fitzpatricks’ organization they agreed to safeguard me and drop the charges for murder in exchange for my testimony. One of the cops
“Your back.” The words were forced out between Noah’s clenched teeth. His eyes spewed fury.
Even thinking about it made Indy nauseous. The pain had been so blinding, he had passed out. “They poured some sort of acid on me. It burned straight through my skin. The pain knocked me out cold.”
“Oh, baby…” Noah said, his voice thick with emotion.
“I was found hours later by a passerby. They had broken both my arms, my jaw, a couple of ribs, and I had a skull fracture. And my back was nothing but seared flesh. The rape kit came back negative, though. My guess is they planned to, but backed out after they’d poured the acid on me. It would’ve hurt them as well, so they just left me there, assuming I’d die. I spent months in the hospital recovering, having skin graft after skin graft.”
“How did you know where to stab this guy?”
Indy flashed a wry smile. “I needed to hit a main artery, so he’d bleed out fast. I went for the femoral artery. Something I picked up from Grey’s Anatomy. I watched every episode at least twice.”
Noah nodded with a hint of pride, but his face still showed the barely veiled fury. “Were they ever charged for their attack on you?”
“I was still willing to testify after that. They put me in protective custody, kept me under heavy guard all the time I was recovering. The DA was building his case with me as the star witness. After the attack on me everyone was finally convinced I was the real deal, that I wasn’t playing them. My mom died in prison while I was recovering. She was stabbed by another inmate, bled out before the guards could get to her. I’m pretty sure Duncan was behind it. He did warn me he’d go after her, after all. I felt kinda upset, but not all that much, since she’d sold me to him. It felt like she brought it on herself, you know? I didn’t have any other family, so no one Duncan could threaten me with. But two months before the trial was supposed to start, when I was finally recovered enough that I could start living again, I received an envelope. I was staying at a hotel on the other side of the country under surveillance, but still they managed to send me a message.”
“What did it say?”
He swallowed. “‘If you talk, we’ll finish the job.’ They had included a picture of me after they’d beaten me up, passed out on the floor, bloody and broken. I threw up when I saw it. The next day, I escaped my surveillance and took off.”
He grabbed his tea back from Noah, took a gulp to soothe his achy throat.
“I’ve been on the run ever since. He hasn’t stopped looking for me, and he never will. I had someone help me with a fake identity as a woman, and for the most part, I lived as a woman for the past eighteen months. Until I met you and Josh…”
“Indy, what do I do? How do I help you through this?”
Noah’s voice was warm and calm, but the suppressed anger showed in his tense jaw, his clenched fists, his eyes that had not quite managed to push back the violence brought by Indy’s story. He was angry on Indy’s behalf and fuck, that felt good.
“Be patient with me. Before yesterday, I thought anything between us was impossible. Maybe I would’ve let you fuck me at some point, because I wanted you too much to keep saying no, but I was determined not to let you in. You were so wicked strong, and what you had with Josh was so special. I felt too damaged for you, was certain you’d never want to be with me if you knew my past and how fucked up I am. But then yesterday evening…” His voice trailed off, searching for the right words.
“You saw that I’m as fucked up as you are, only in a different way,” Noah finished the sentence.
Indy nodded, biting his lip.
Noah said, “Did it scare you? Did I scare you? As you put it, that was some serious fucking.”
“No. It helped me see that we’re all messed up, you, me, and Josh, but we cope in different ways. You reached your limits yesterday, and Josh helped you through that. It was beautiful, really.”
Noah’s brows raised, his head reeling back slightly. “Beautiful? That’s not what I expected you to say.”
Indy smiled. “You should’ve seen Josh's face when he came. Pure bliss.”
“How was it, you and him?”
There was curiosity in Noah’s voice, but also traces of hurt. He had to tell him everything. This was a conversation he needed to have up close and personal, however. Indy slid off his stool and stepped between Noah’s legs. “Put me on your lap.”
Noah’s eyes grew big, but he lifted him effortlessly and set Indy on his legs, turning his stool so Indy’s back was supported by the counter. Indy was only wearing a shirt and boxer shorts, and the two layers of thin fabric did little to prevent him from feeling Noah’s crotch. He put his hands on Noah’s bare chest, let his fingers explore the skin, stroked his pecs, his nipples. The skin was deliciously rough under his fingers. He breathed in Noah’s smell, more sweaty than usual. God, even the tangy odor of the man’s sweat was intoxicating.
“It was healing,” he said. Noah’s muscles tightened where Indy touched him, and he reveled in Noah’s sheer power. “It was exactly what I needed to help me get ready for you. Josh may look like an angel, but his kisses alone are wicked and enough to make me hard as steel.” Indy put a finger on Noah’s lips. “He does this thing with his tongue, where—well, you’ve kissed him, so you know.”
Noah cleared his throat, his breaths quickening. “We haven’t kissed all that much, so feel free to tell me more, and don’t be skimpy on the details.”
“He let me top him,” Indy said, grinding his crotch against Noah’s hardening shaft.
“Did he now?” Noah managed, putting his hands on Indy’s hips and pressing him down a bit, increasing the contact between them. Indy smiled.
“He sure did. He helped me prepare him and everything.” Indy rocked his hips back and forth, causing a delightful friction between their bodies. “And then he let me fuck him. It was so much better than I had imagined. My cock all snug and slick in his ass. He’s so tight, so fucking hot. It was wicked fucking pissa.”
“You know you’re killing me here, right?” Noah grunted, pushing his groin upward.
The outline of Noah’s thick erection pressed against Indy’s ass. Indy threw his head back, laughed as delightful tingles teased his body. It was good to see Noah relax again, let go of the anger Indy’s story had caused. “He had some trouble…letting go. So I stole your trick.”
Noah met his eyes, laughed. “You called him Joshua.”
“Yup. I barked ‘Dammit Joshua, let go,’ and he blew his wad.”
The deep laugh rumbled through Noah’s chest.
Indy sobered. “I needed that experience with him. To see sex differently, to feel what it can be like. He was so sweet to me, so perfect.”
“I’m glad,” Noah said.
Indy cocked his head, studied him. “Do you mean it? Aren’t you jealous of Josh…or me?”
Noah kissed him, a feather-light touch on his lips. “Yeah, I mean it. And no, I’m not jealous, not anymore. I was yesterday, when I discovered the two of you naked, but that was because I was fucking exhausted and in too much pain. It does things to me, when I’m like that.”
“I didn’t mean to make you jealous.”
Noah smiled. “I know. And just so you know: I was jealous of Josh, not you. I don’t mind sharing him, but the thought that he’d had you first, that was a tough one.”
“He didn’t fuck me,” Indy whispered, strangely warmed by Noah’s admission. “And you know that I don’t want to fuck things up between you two. But I’m ready.”
Noah’s face softened, and he blinked slowly. “For me.” He breathed in deeply, a look of reverence on his face. “I’m yours now, too,” he said. He understood. “I’ll take good care of you, Indy,” he whispered.
“I know you will. I trust you.”
“You’re mine now.”
Indy felt the words in his very soul. “I am. And I know I’m sharing you with Josh, and I’m fine with that. He still needs you, and you may need him, because I can’t take your anger. Not yet anyways, and maybe never. But sleeping between the two of you last night, it was special. It felt like home.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Josh walked up into the kitchen from the cellar, wearing running shorts. He gulped down half a bottle of water, then noticed them sitting together. A broad smile lit his face up.
“I see you two have found each other,” he said with a happy smile.
“He’s mine now,” Noah said in an over-the-top stern tone, “so hands off.”
“Oh,” Indy said, pouting his lips, knowing Noah was joking. “Can I at least still kiss him? He’s such a great kisser, and he can make me all hard and ready for you…”
“I can do that my damn self,” Noah grumbled playfully, before yanking Indy’s mouth close and fusing their lips together. Indy’s eyes crossed, and he vaguely heard Josh laughing. Noah’s hot mouth attacked his with so much fervor, Indy wanted to crawl into him. His arms came around Noah’s neck, and he wrapped his legs around Noah’s waist. The deeper contact with his cock sent a shiver through his body. He was gasping for air when Noah let him go.
“You still wanna kiss Josh?” Noah teased, putting his hand between their bodies and squeezing Indy’s shaft. “Seems to me you’re plenty hard.”
Indy moaned. “Who’s Josh?” he said, grinding into Noah’s hand.
“Exactly.” Noah pulled back his hand, much to Indy’s disappointment. He was even more surprised when Noah lifted him off his lap. “As much as I like this, we’re not going to have sex right now.”
“We’re not?” Indy made no effort to hide his disappointment. What the fuck? He was finally ready to let the man claim him and now Noah didn’t want him?
“No. I’m off today, and you and I are going on a date.” He got up from the stool, kissed Indy quickly on his mouth. “As much as I want you right now, we’re gonna do this right. Get dressed warmly, and we’ll find a nice, secluded spot for a picnic, since the weather is brisk, but beautiful.”
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